


White Sands

by antigrav_vector



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Brotp, Canon Character of Color, Cars, Fluff, Gen, Pre-Slash, Racing, Shenanigans, Tony and Rhodey are bros, loosely set after Avengers (2012), off-road racing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-02
Updated: 2015-09-02
Packaged: 2018-04-18 16:09:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4712189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/antigrav_vector/pseuds/antigrav_vector
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Rhodey is determined to win, Steve is just having fun, and Tony can't seem to get what he wants...</p>
            </blockquote>





	White Sands

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Teyke](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Teyke/gifts), [teaberryblue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/teaberryblue/gifts).



> Not beta read. Any mistakes are mine.
> 
> Teyke, teaberryblue, this is totally your fault. I hope you're happy. -_-;;
> 
> Also, since everyone I see seems to be jumping on the bandwagon... come [visit me on tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/disco-pinecone) if you like.

The news had hit the airwaves before they'd even been booked. _Tony Stark and Captain America Arrested for Illegal Street Racing_. Which, yeah, okay, they _might_ have been breaking a few speed laws, and Tony was pretty sure they'd run at least one red light.

Tony had tried to argue them back out of trouble; they were bona fide superheroes and had literally saved the world several times over. It hadn't worked. Tony's sports car and Steve's bike had both been impounded. Getting them back wouldn't take long once he could give Pepper a call and get the ball rolling on getting this straightened out, but until then, it was less than pleasant. If for no other reason than preferring not to walk back to the Tower.

Steve had sulked at him and the officers that had handled their case pretty much incessantly. Pepper had rolled her eyes on hearing the news and used her long years of experience as Tony's PA to spring them before they had to spend the night in the cramped cell. Tony's lawyers had gotten their respective rides back out of the pound a day later.

The media had been _all_ over the story for three days, and only gave it up when one of the Kardashians did something new and ridiculous and controversial. He hadn't paid attention. Something about a magazine cover that went viral, baby oil, and barely work-safe levels of nudity. Pretty tame, really, by his standards.

That had been a week ago. 

And the thing about it was... Tony kind of wanted a rematch.

He and Steve were still on that rocky uncertain ground somewhere between professional-working-relationship and friendship. Tony wasn't quite sure where to step, at this point, wary of setting off an avalanche. It had taken them some time to reach this détente, and ruining it was not on the list of things he wanted to happen.

But the appeal of taking Steve somewhere remote to open the taps on their vehicles of choice didn't go away. 

A thought hit him, then, and he couldn't stop the smile it brought to his face. He knew just the place and person to make this plan a reality.

\------

"No, Tony," Rhodey's voice had that tone to it that he got when he pinched the bridge of his nose. "That is never gonna fly."

"Rhodey, sugarplum," Tony laughed, "don't tell me I have to find someone to pull rank. I'm pretty sure I can find someone on base to do it."

"Damn it, Tony, I thought you were done pulling random publicity stunts when you joined the Avengers." Rhodey huffed at him, his irritation clear.

"Aww, come on platypus," Tony laughed. "It'll be great. You can come too. Do you some good to get out of that office of yours and into the action. We'll see whether the USAF can beat out an Army relic from the 40s or a civvie contractor. It's not that big a deal. A short drive from one end of the missile range to the other."

There was a long pointed silence. "I know exactly what you're trying to do, Tones. It's not going to happen."

"Even if I say that you'll get a new set of armour upgrades if you win?" Tony couldn't help the taunting tone in his voice. That was almost guaranteed to win him what he wanted, and he'd been planning to offer Rhodey a new set of toys to play with anyway. This way he got something back out of the deal.

Rhodey hung up on him without a goodbye and Tony smirked to himself. It was only a matter of time, now.

Standing from his spot on his sofa, Tony asked, "JARVIS, where is the good Captain?"

"He is currently on the common floor in the gym, sir."

It was surprisingly easy to convince Steve. Tony wasn't sure whether that was because Steve was an adrenaline junkie at heart, or because he wanted the rematch as badly as Tony did. Minus the arrests this time. Although, thinking back on it, Steve had seemed more upset that they'd been caught than he had at being booked.

Rhodey called back less than an hour later to say they were cleared to do it. In three days, briefing at 0900 and start time at 1030, vehicles of two, three, or four wheels allowed. Nothing flight-capable. Free rein on modifications, as long as it didn't require fuel not already on base, which ruled out additions such as nitrous[1].

There was likely to be a crowd of spectators.

Tony was fine with that.

\------

Tony spent the next two days in the shop. He had informed Steve that their little game had been approved, and then headed directly downstairs. He wasn't going to be able to use one of his personally tuned sports cars for this; the missile range would require off-road capabilities far beyond what he'd built into his own cars. Steve's bike would be able to handle it without a problem, unless the sand it kicked up got into the workings. Rhodey was likely to turn up in one of the vehicles out of the base's motor pool, albeit tuned up and tweaked by the base's mechanics just for this event, and he was sure to taunt them as Tony had taunted him over the phone to ensure they did their level best.

And that meant Tony needed a plan of attack.

The proposed route started in the San Andres mountains, due west of the base[2], and the finish line lay on base, about 40 miles distant. This was a race that would be decided before they left the mountain range, given the stated conditions. The rest of the terrain was flat and only marked by missile craters.

Tony rolled up his metaphorical sleeves and got to work. He was going to take his inspiration from the cars used in off-road rally racing, and modify his own. Deciding he didn't like the capabilities of most of the more recent winning designs and teams, he settled on using a Porsche 959[3], having JARVIS place the order and arrange for delivery the following day, along with the parts he wanted for the modifications he was about to design. It was a car that had a racing pedigree, including a win in the Dakar Rally raid in 1986[4], a rear mounted engine that would give him good traction thanks to the way the car's weight was centered over the rear axle, and all-wheel drive which would be a necessity in any kind of cornering he had to do.

But it could still use some improvements. The parts used in racing had come a long way since the 80s, and he intended to make use of every last erg of power that they could give him. He'd need it, with the way Steve and Rhodey drove. He started planning those out immediately. "J, give me a model to work with, would ya? Wire-frame with editing enabled."

"Of course, sir," came the prompt reply, and the requested hologram flickered to life in front of him. A list of the car's specs appeared beside it. JARVIS had given him a model of the standard 959 to work with, given that that was what he'd bought. Well, assuming that the previous owners hadn't modified it at all. He'd have to check that before he started doing his own work on the vehicle.

Spinning the model idly, he considered his options. To start out with, he'd need to throw a roll cage in it. Porsches had a reputation for being twitchy to steer, and he didn't want to risk his neck more than he had to for this. There was thrill seeking, and then there was just stupid. He added adaptive suspension, tweaked the gear ratios, and upped the engine's efficiency. All of those changes made the car heavier, and that was something he didn't want. The standard model of the car weighed in at just under one and a half metric tons[5], and the modifications he'd made had added an extra fifty kilos. Now it was time to get the weight back down. "Hey JARVIS," Tony asked, "we still got any of that carbon fibre-thermoset polymer mixture left over from the cell phone development project?"

"Approximately twenty kilos, sir."

"Perfect." He'd ordered twice what he'd thought he'd need, because he had the budget, and having some spare was never a bad idea. And now, Tony smirked, he could put it to good use. It was tough, and lightweight. And he could paint it any color he wanted. "Think you can replicate the car's body panels with it, for me? I want to tear off all that metal and make it better."

"Rendering, sir."

"In an ideal world," Tony added to himself, "I could also replace the chassis, but I doubt there'll be enough time for that."

"I would recommend against it, sir," JARVIS agreed with him. "That would require nearly twelve hours to design, machine, test, and install. I have completed the renders for the body panels. Shall I begin fabrication?"

"Yeah, sure. Go ahead," Tony answered, back to toying with the holographic representation of the car. With the changes he'd made, Tony noted and sat back with a satisfied smirk, he'd added another 76 horsepower to the car. "So how do the new simulated power-to-weight ratios impact the handling, JARVIS?"

"Projections indicate an increase in top speed and agility in cornering, sir. However, you will need to take care not to stress the transmission, as a result of increased torque output from the engine at low speeds."

"Hmm," Tony rubbed at his chin. "Can we machine new clutch plates[6]?"

"I'm afraid we do not have the appropriate materials in stock, and procuring more will not be possible before the deadline."

Right. That figured. "And the rest of the materials?"

"I have placed orders, specifying delivery tomorrow."

"Guess I can deal with that. So," he shoved the schematic of the car aside, satisfied that he'd tweaked it enough. An additional 76 horsepower was nothing to scoff at in a car that had started out with 450[7]. If he added much more, the car's manual gearbox would destroy itself as he drove, and that was the last thing he wanted. "Where were we on the tactical comms project?"

\------

Three days later, Tony, Steve, the refurbished Porsche, and Steve's trusty motorcycle were en route to New Mexico. They'd had to be in the air by 0600 to get there on time. The flight would take just under five hours, most of which Tony planned to spend sleeping. They had driven to the airport in their chosen vehicles, both of which had been carefully strapped down in containers and stowed in the underbelly of Tony's jet.

Once his car has been stowed, Tony waited for Steve to see his motorcycle loaded up, and then led the way up the stairs and into the jet without a word. He let himself flop down onto his sofa, strapped himself in and threw an arm over his face. "Wake me up when we're twenty minutes out," he requested.

Steve chuckled. "No promises."

"Fine, whatever." Tony closed his eyes and knew it wouldn't take much more before he was properly asleep. Weirdly, it was easier here, with Steve around, than in the privacy of his workshop or bedroom. Tony chose not to think about what that meant.

He jolted awake when the jet's wheels touched the ground.

Steve was also just sitting up and scrubbing at his face blearily. "We there," he mumbled obviously coming out of a nap of his own.

"Yeah," Tony undid his seatbelt and stood, stretching until his vertebrae popped. "Mmm, that's better. Right, come on. Let's go get our things offloaded. We've got places to be."

\------

Tony had actually more or less paid attention during the briefing. Yes, most of it was boring and time spent reiterating what they already knew, but Rhodey's commanding officer, Col. Sherman, who was running this event, also included a topographical map of the route they were racing, which was actually helpful. There was also coffee and a large box of donuts, neither of which lasted long.

Essentially, there were two options; take the shorter but much more dangerous way down the gully to the north of their starting point, or take the slightly longer but less steep and narrow path through the valley to the south[map].

Tony hadn't yet decided which he was going to take. He was fairly sure Steve would opt for the shorter route, given that he was on his bike and had the maneuverability to do it. Rhodey was probably going to follow suit in his souped up Jeep. Tony... well, he was considering taking the longer path. If both of his competitors went for the direct route, they would only get in his way. There were good odds that he wouldn't get a chance to get past either of them on the narrow little mountain path. It was _just_ wide enough for a small vehicle like his or Rhodey's. Anything with a wider wheel base wasn't getting through there. And, to make matters worse, the mountain side dropped off very sharply next to the 'road' in what wasn't quite a cliff but might as well have been.

No, if his opponents went for the northern route, he wasn't going to follow. The southern route was less well-defined, though. Less of a road and more of just wild ground between two mountains. There was scrub everywhere, and the path through to the wide plain of the missile range wasn't marked.

They would drive the cars out to the starting point via a dirt road to the north of the first proposed route, refuel them on site, and then wait for the start. That was the plan.

\------

They made it to the starting line without incident. Somehow. Tony still wasn't quite sure how that was possible, considering their personalities and collective ability to break the universe without even trying. But they were in three separate vehicles and without their comms. It was almost unnervingly silent, actually. He felt oddly alone without Steve and Rhodey making their little digs at him, without having the ability to narrate everything he was doing at them. Tony decided he hated it. Thank fuck he'd left the stereo system in when he'd tuned the car. If he couldn't have his teammates in his ears, he could at least have the appropriate anthem blasting as he drove. If there was a next time, he was bringing comm sets for all of them, because fuck this. The silence, not the driving. He liked to just drive for the sake of driving. To jump into his convertible and fly down empty roads an in the middle of nowhere with the wind in his hair and his music turned up. But not being able to trash talk his friends throughout this was going to take a lot of the fun out of this little experiment.

Thankfully they got to the designated starting line not long after he'd had that little epiphany. Col. Sherman and a small posse of his aides and several USAF motor pool mechanics arrived minutes later in a helicopter, toting the supplies they'd need for the race. The mechanics handed out blocky looking walkie talkies that made Tony cringe to look at, and clips with which they attached to their clothing. For emergencies only, and misuse would disqualify the driver. Tony was confident they wouldn't need them. Then the cars and Steve's bike were fueled up, and the mechanics did something very secretive to Rhodey's car. Tony caught his friend's eye and raised an eyebrow at him.

Rhodey had the balls to just laugh at him. "What's under this baby's hood is for me to know and you to find out, Tones."

"Oh ho! He shows up toting a secret weapon," Tony crowed in response, catching Steve's attention. "I can't wait to watch your ACME dynamite kit blow up in your face, Wil. E."

Rhodey shook his head. "Just because you're the best doesn't mean that no one else is good, Tones."

Steve was leaning on his bike's seat and sniggering at them both. "It doesn't count until you're across the finish line," he pointed out.

Tony turned to him and clutched at his arc reactor melodramatically. "I'm cut to the quick, Cap."

"You're sure something, Stark," Rhodey shot back, shaking his head, "and I'm pretty sure it's not the winner of this race."

They were interrupted at that point by someone clearing his throat. Tony turned and was met with a knowing smirk from Rhodey's CO. "Mr. Stark. Captain. Take your positions. Rhodes?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Show 'em what we can do."

Rhodey saluted smartly. "Yes, sir."

Tony shook his head in mock-disappointment. "You always did have a flair for the dramatic, Rhodey."

"That's rich, coming from you," Rhodey quipped back as he settled himself in his jeep. "I'll see you at the finish line, man."

"We'll see," Steve pulled his uniform helmet onto his head and settled a pair of aviator goggles in place, the little white wings at the sides of his head shining in the sun, "who sees who."

Tony strapped himself into his seat with the racing harness he'd added on a whim, remembering the disastrous day he'd tried to race in the Monaco Grand Prix, and wincing. Today they wouldn't be interrupted by a Russian maniac with electrified whips powered by an arc reactor. Probably.

Starting the motor running and listening to its quiet rumble, he wrapped his left hand around the steering wheel and the right around the gear lever. He'd have to be on top of those gear changes, if he wanted to coax the most out of the car. Mentally he reviewed the map of the terrain they'd been presented with under an hour ago, and smiled as he cued up the playlist he'd put together just for today on his stereo.

As the first bars of _Start Me Up_ sounded, Col. Sherman pulled out a sidearm and slowly raised it, waiting until he'd made eye contact with all three of them before he fired the starting shot.

All three vehicles were off the line immediately, none of them hanging around to see the Colonel jump back into the chopper to watch their progress from the air. Tony was surprised when he saw Rhodey make a break for the southern approach, and followed, carefully throwing the car into its first real corner at speed. Pleased when everything went as he'd wanted, Tony opened the throttle more, pouring on the speed until he caught up with Rhodey.

It didn't take long for them to get down the mountain. They were approaching the flat area of the missile range in under ten minutes. He and Rhodey traded off the lead several times before they reached the last corner at the foot of the mountain, yelling insults back and forth as they drove. Tony's Porsche cornered better, but Rhodey had clearly practiced the course with his car. He knew where to push the limits and where to be cautious. Tony, on the other hand, had gone into this blind. He knew the range -- had been here many times while he'd still been in the weapons business -- and he was good at improvising, and he didn't make many mistakes, but the ones he did always seemed to cost him just enough time to give Rhodey back the lead.

When the flat expanse of desert separating them from the base came into view, the white sand that gave it its name shining brightly in the glare of the sun, _Highway to Hell_ came on and Tony smiled. Now, this would be the fun part. He could make out the dust trail that was being kicked up by Steve's bike, only about half a mile ahead of him, and could just about feel Rhodey pushing and maneuvering to get past him. Then they hit the flats, and Tony floored it. There was no reason to hold back here. He would have to keep an eye out for the various mounds and impact craters left behind after missile tests, but he was used to flying in the armour at far higher speeds and navigating similar types of obstacle courses. 

He managed to hold Rhodey off until he'd just about caught up with Steve, but that, naturally, was the moment Rhodey decided to unleash his secret weapon.

With a roar Tony was used to hearing on airport runways, the jeep sped past them both, its wheels touching the ground in name only as it all but flew by. Tony couldn't hold back the incredulous laugh. Those cheating bastards had put a _literal jet engine_ in the back of the jeep.

Tony knew a losing battle when he saw one. Usually didn't turn them down, per se, but he knew when he was beat.

This was one of them.

But he couldn't even find it in him to be mad. This was exactly the kind of crazy shit he should have expected from Rhodey. The kind of shit they used to experiment with at MIT, and that Rhodey had seemingly given up on indulging once he hit Captain. That didn't mean, as Tony was forcibly reminded, that he'd forgotten how. Oh no. And he'd apparently gotten the engineers and mechanics on base to go along with his plan. Hell, most of them had probably always wanted to try it, anyway.

Tony was still smiling ruefully when he crossed the finish line, about a quarter second behind Steve, because the universe was unfair that way.

He shut off his car and walked over to Rhodey. "What the hell, man."

"You promised me upgrades if I won." Rhodey smirked back, very self-satisfied and content.

Steve laughed and offered Rhodey his hand. "You know I am not surprised at all that you two are best friends."

Tony turned to Steve and shot back with fully aware and intentional irony in his tone, "don't encourage him."

\------

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrous_oxide_engine  
[2] https://www.google.com/maps/@32.7835875,-106.3267982,9.5z/data=!5m1!1e4  
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Tularosa-Basin-NM-USGS-map_opaque.gif  
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_959  
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakar_Rally#List_of_winners  
[5] http://www.carfolio.com/specifications/models/car/?car=858  
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clutch  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmission_(mechanics)  
[7] http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/car-comparison-tests/reviews/a18684/extreme-machines-porsche-959/  
[map]  
[](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/cailamaia/media/HollomanAFB.png.html)


End file.
